might not make it;

“Family is worth fighting and dying for,” Mae reminded Sting.  She turned her head, eyeing him with certainty.  The longer a person lived, the easier it was for them to forget the bonds that they had built.  Especially when it came to their families.  Her children still had much to learn about those values of life.  “You should learn from your father,” Mae said as she nodded to Sting, “He was a wise man.  Both in life and in death.”

She knew what he meant.  The Dragon could smell them, all of them and even she was having a hard time figuring out where they were.  It irritated her that someone found a way for her to lose track of her children.  Someone would burn for this.  She would make sure of that.  “There’s got to a be reason.  Neither of them have the ability to multiply and be everywhere,” Mae spoke with a grave tone.  She frowned, shaking her head as she took a breath.  “I don’t like this, Sting.  I don’t like it one bit.”

At the mention of Eren, Mae held a fond smile at the lost child who stepped into his role as a Prince.  Royalty was supposed to shield their people and Eren was a protector, albeit a silent one.  She shook her head and stared at Sting before she flatly said, “You’re my problem child.”  Sting was her first child and he had always been one of her biggest challenges.  Mae nodded in agreement, “I don’t think anyone is prepared but whatever headed to Ceres Centropolis, we’re going to make sure that we’ll give them a hard time.”

For the family - that was a saying his mother had attempted to embed in all of them.  Although, judging from some of his siblings, it was easier said than done.  He nodded at his mother, before his eyes wandered from her and over to the skyline of the city.  If his father had been alive, he knew things would be different but Sting hardly lived in the corners of 'what-ifs' and the avenues of 'could have been'.  "We all could have learned from him," Sting agreed with her.

As Mae spoke, Sting closed his eyes and let his senses shift.  The air carried their scent, but it was scarce, thin amongst the thickness of Ceres Centropolis.  Like Mae said, they were everywhere but at the same time, they were nowhere.  It was beyond both of their known abilities to be scattered so thinly through the air and yet, that was the case.  With his eyes shut, his brows furrowed as he thought about it.  "It's not a spell," he decided as he opened his eyes.  "It's different.  Something, something man-made," he took another deep breath, hoping that it could filter the scents in the air but nothing seemed to happen.  He shook his head, "I'll figure it out."

The Dragon sighed at her eldest’s mention of his father.  Mae frowned, shaking her heat him and said, “If your father didn’t sacrifice himself for our sake, the world would indeed be much more different, Hasting.”  At that time, humans who held the power that Hasting’s father did were hunted down and burned at the stake for crimes as simple as healing someone’s ailment.  Although the world had gained a more tolerant perspective, Mae doubted that it had spread to all of society - as obviously depicted by S.H.O.T. agents hired by their own government to police them.  There was a war brewing Ceres Centropolis and while Mae wasn’t certain when it would erupt, she would rather have her children present.  They could easily even the tides when the waves of destruction began.  She looked over at Hasting as she let out a reluctant sigh.  "It’s as if they were being spread,“ Mae had a gruesome thought but refrained from sharing it.  The idea of her children being cut up and spread through the city was not something a mother enjoyed.  She nodded slowly until she settled to watch the city.  Her palms rest of the balcony as she leaned forward.

"I don’t need to tell you that there’s something going to happen, Hasting, but be careful,” Mae said, then laughed, “A mother does worry.  Even if her son is as big as mountain.”  She gave him a look.  Mae knew who Hasting spoke of.  It was why she always felt at ease in Ceres Centropolis.  "He’ll offer to help.  Silently, as he always does,“ Mae replied.  At the mention of her daughter, Mae sighed as a forlorn smile came upon her.  "Felicity has her reasons, Hasting, as we all do.”  The Dragon had twelve children and each child required a different touch of motherhood.  Never did she expect to have this many children, but she was never one to deny anyone a chance when things looked dire.  Mae shifted her stance, and turned away from the city.  She leaned back, resting against the banister of the balcony.  "We need to work on fixing the issue, Hasting.  I trust you have some sort of plan?“

Sting had only met his father once but that was enough for the man to leave an impression on him - he was five years old when he watched his father perform magic so powerful, it took his life as payment.  Since then, he aimed to be as strong and powerful as his father was.  He looked at Mae and nodded, “Of course.  Family was his crowning and killing jewel.”

Sting closed his eyes as Mae spoke.  By closing off one of his senses, he could strengthen the others.  He took a deep breath.  He could smell his family - Mae, Ophelia, Felicity, Eren and the blood of the other smelled as though they were everywhere.  His brows furrowed, knitted in completely frustration as he he finally opened his eyes.  “I don’t like that,” he admitted, “I can’t pinpoint their scent.  Even worse is I can’t pick out their heartbeat.  Not with this mess.”

“I would huh?” There was intrigue in her voice as he spoke about his family. It seems there was more to them that meets the eye. It wasn’t until he revealed his dragon heritage that it began to make sense to the diwata of what kind of beings she was dealing with. “Probably not.” agreed Arabella with a grin. “Intricate and unpredictable mythical creatures indeed. Although, she must have lived a long life to begin with. I don’t blame her for not making any sense.”

Brown hues eyed the SHOT agents, but no sort of action was done on her part. She’d only make a move should anything were to occur or when they least expect it. “Mhm, she gives and she takes…” A total hard relate as Maria had done the same to her people. Therefore, she’d understand why a goddess would fleet away—they had their reasons. Tilting her head to the side, Arabella arched a brow and grinned, “That’s a powerful combo, impressive really.” With a nod, she gestured a wave for Hastings to have at it. “Have fun.”

And with that being said, the diwata watched in amusement as he executed his attacks. The elements that were passed down before him. Not once did she blink out of fear or surprise as she crossed her arms and waited patiently for him to finish. The lightning aimed straight for the agents and she watched as they’d got hit. With a short applause, Arabella beamed out a smile and said, “Don’t apologize, that was pretty cool.” She then looked over his shoulder and noticed that more agents were coming. She then took a few steps towards him as she stood by his side and sighed. “Annoying.” she stated at first, before she stretched out her arms. The ground beneath them began to shake as it separated itself causing them to fall through the cracks. The roots from the frosted nature around them sprouted out as they wrapped around each of their necks, knocking them out. “We should walk away from this before more of them come this way.”

“There’s twelve children of Calloway,” Sting cleared up.  He held up three fingers, “Three are dragonborne and nine are given a second chance by Mother.”  Of course, it never felt right to call her mother when she looked much younger and more petite than him and his siblings.  At least, in her human form.  When that woman transformed into her true form, even Sting couldn’t maintain that usual confidence he carried.  “Mothers never make sense,” Sting muttered.  Although, his mother always had a plan.  Especially when it came to their family.

Fire and lightning were his elements.  They were destructive apart, but combined, they were even worse.  Sting had journeyed long and far to be able to control his elements.  This city was one that he had to prepare for.  The scent of powerful creatures roamed the streets;  it was hard to discern all of the people present, especially when their true natures have been hidden under the scent of fear and terror.  

Felicity shrugged again because she didn’t have much else to say about that. A conversation like this had a way of sapping her energies and she didn’t have enough energy to argue, but she had enough energy left to explain herself, even if her words were going to fall on deaf ears. “If they change… then that means that I have enough power to make ‘em.” Felicity pushed her hands into her coat pockets. “I’ve made peace with dying the way I entered this world. Even if I got a fancy stone engraved with my name on it, everything withers away. All anything needs is a little time.”

She could take a lot of his glares and walk away from it unscathed, but this final one caused her to furrow her brows in annoyance. “It’s not like I can get in your way. You’re build like the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs!” She let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. “You’re such a cryptic old geezer. I can’t tell if you’re trying to guilt me into helping you because you don’t want to just ask? Damn!” She started to walk away. “Seriously, I hate the Calloways.” 

Sting looked at her as she spoke dramatically.  His expression changed and then he said, “You can’t die anymore.”  The hybrid looked at her and then shrugged, “Time won’t excuse you from living the long life ahead of you, Felicity.”  Immortality was something that Sting would never have wished upon anyone but it seemed the course had already taken.  “You might want to get a refund on that gravestone.”

“Ah.” He wasn’t wrong, though she was kind of surprised he could tell from this distance, having apparently not actually been to the city. He tried to cover it up with a comment about the news, so Cass let it slide, never feeling like prying was a good idea anywhere in this town. “It is in pretty bad shape, I won’t deny that,” she started slowly, looking in the direction of the city herself, a scowl crossing her features. The presence of SHOT was a sore point for her and one she tried not to dwell on. “The city has always bounced back though…” Even though her words were certain, her tone of voice was far less than convincing. It felt like the city was on a precipice, moreso than it had ever been before, and Cass wasn’t honestly sure how it would go. After a moment, she ventured to ask, “Is that why you’re here?”

“It never fails to amaze me,” Mae said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.  She tilted her head from the left to the right as she set her hands on her hips.  “You may have mastered the craft of spell work that people could never attempt, but you’ve yet to master the art of respect and manners,” Mae shook her head, then dramatically covered her mouth with her hand, feigning a false appearance of crying as she did.  “If only your father hadn’t died thousands of years ago.”  She teased, but Sting’s father had died at the hands of some of Mae’s worst enemies - forever will she be grateful to the man,.  She smacked his hand away, “Don’t.”  Her eyes turned icy as she glared at him.  Mae stepped back - her glare maintained as she did.  “They are,” Mae said, “I could feel their energy the moment the arrived.  Their scent is scattered …it’s as if they’re everywhere but nowhere at the same time.”  The Dragon frowned, “I don’t like how this bodes, Sting.  It’s not going to end well.”

“I learned it from father,” Sting said with a grin.  Unlike the rest of his siblings, Sting had known his father and according to his mother, he emulated too many similarities to him.  Especially when it came to personality and mannerisms.  Sting thought he was a good man.  “If father hadn’t died that many years ago, the world would have shifted in power,” Sting admitted.  While he loved his father, he knew the man had the unfortunate problem of being swayed by the persuasive words of others.  He frowned, there was a sadness in her eyes.  It lingered longer than Sting would have liked;  a woman like her was much stronger when it came to the aching that she had experienced, he would not have been able to handle it well.  He nodded at her admission, “Considering, there are six of us in the city now, the scents are getting difficult to sort through.”  He frowned as he closed his eyes and took a long breath.  Ultimately, Sting shook his head and frowned, “Like you said, their scent is everywhere but there’s no traces of them physically here.  I don’t like it, mother.”  

“I never said I wasn’t an asshole.” She shrugged. She really hated how he always had something to say and usually, he was criticizing how she chose to live her life. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand her own humanity, it was just she accepted and was comfortable with her most awful parts. In all honesty, she didn’t care for changing for the better because it wasn’t like she could change the past anyways. 

“I don’t care about them. I care about the fact that SHOT has two people who are strong as fuck under their control. Who knows what they could do with all that power and new information?” She narrowed her eyes at him when he dramatically paused. He and Ophelia were the fucking worst sometimes. “I was going to attempt at being a nice person and feed you, but now I’ve lost all interest in that. You’re annoying.” 

"Everyone knows that.  You make sure to let everyone know that's how you want to be seen as," Sting said without much emotion to the words.  Felicity had always been the most stubborn person, in Sting's honest opinion.  He lived a long life and had witnessed the events that happened to people who followed the same mindset as she did.  "The way you choose to live your life is yours but you do not get to change the way people act around you," Sting said before he pointed out, "One day, those who have cared for you will be pushed to a limit and they will no longer carry that same care for you.  Loneliness will be your only companion."  He knew this path.  He lived it in his younger years, after all.

After hearing his own name, his brows scrunched up and he took the cancer stick out of his mouth. Only his friend, Hasting, could get away with calling him by such a name. Ulrik threw the cigarette down and crushed it beneath his foot to put it out. “You’re infuriatingly disrespectful! I’ve fed you and you dare to call me by that name!” He was playing up the dramatics. Nothing about this moment bothered him enough to be fueled by the fury of war.  Moments like these were rare and it had been a while since they traded blows, so he wanted to make it enjoyable for both of them. 

Ulrik easily avoided the flaming beams and ducked beneath them using his vampiric speed. He reached up into beam and seem to grab flames before he pushed it back into the concrete. The mixed in together with the ground until it was molten hot. “Old friend, can you eat lava?” He scooped up balls and threw them at Sting as strong as he could. 

"I'm calling you by your first name," Sting said as his grin expanded into a widely entertained one.  "How is that disrespectful, Remus?"  Sting was not unaware of the implications where when it came to calling him by that name.  The slightest chuckle shook his torso as he was entertained at the dramatics that his old friend was displaying.  Ancient beings could be so dramatic at times - i.e., his mother was one of the oldest and most dramatic dragons that he had ever encountered.  He put his hands together in front of him, clasping them together as he bowed, "Thank you for the meal, O great Remus."

“Alright, so we’re going for cryptic here. Check.” Her arms crossed over her chest as she continued to study his profile, the man himself continuing to look toward the city with a pensive look on his face. It was almost as though he was listening to something, though what, she couldn’t be sure. All Cass could hear was the sounds of the horses in the stables and the general sounds of the countryside. Her head tilted to the side at his question, her curiosity piqued even further, confusion painted across her features. “How long has it been like what?”

Brett was slightly taken aback by the man’s voice and then again by his size.  He found himself slightly jealous at how mammoth the man was but he nodded as he spoke.  Those were true words.  “You’re right,” Brett agreed, “Heroes should be more than just their strength and powers.  They need to be able to carry hope on.”  He frowned, brows furrowed as he took a short breath and then laughed at the man’s’ suggestion.  “No,” he lied, “I was just curious what people thought heroes were.  There’s a million people out there claiming to be heroes and yet, I feel like nothing has changed.  For every new hero that pops up, there’s a million more threats that come up after them.”  There were days when that felt like a losing battle and yet, there were days when it felt like he had crushed all of his opposition.  Recently, it felt like a losing battle.

“Hope is a powerful weapon,” Sting started, “But it’s also a double-edged sword.  With it, people will carry on but the moment they feel it disappearing, that’s when things take a turn for the worst.”

Heroes were strange to the dragon hybrid.  He’d wandered the Earth long enough to see the start of when Heroes began to be regaled through the world but Sting never understood the necessity for celebrity.  Then again, Sting had always had the title of Deus Ex Machina placed upon him - he was in and out of places the moment he ended whatever job he had been in.  Ceres Centropolis was just the latest pit stop in his never-ending quest to squash the abuse of magic and their magical anomalies;  his mother’s request for their presence was a happy coincidence.

“Hm…” Arabella pressed her lips into a thin line after hearing about the appreciation that came with suffering. “Well said.” she mused. Her sufferings caused her to be who she is today and for that, she was quite grateful for the turn out. She knew she could have ran a different course with the beings on earth, but instead she chose to do something about it rather than dwell. “Ah, I see. Family dynamics have their ups and downs.” Once she learned of his origins, the diwata crossed her arms in the process and studied him closely. “Ahh, very cool. So fire is your sole element?” Suddenly, Brown hues darted over to the group of SHOT agents surrounding the area. “Speaking of the devils.” mumbled Arabella as she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I had the exact same mentality as you. But the moment they were all up in my business, that changed. Who knows? Maybe you’re lucky and you won’t have to worry at all.” 

Hasting wasn’t sure how long ago it was that he came to that conclusion.  Then again, it was hard to be accurate when he was a first born of an elder dragon.  The family that came from that dragon was one that grew into a force more powerful than he had anticipated - probably more than the dragon herself had anticipated as well.  “You would be surprised at the family dynamic fostered in the Calloway household,” Sting said as he looked away, staring off into the distance for a few moments.  He sighed longingly before he turned to her and said, “Mother has never been an easy woman to bargain with.  Dragons have never made sense and probably never will.”  

Her question had rolled out but so did the S.H.O.T. agents.  Sting turned his head to them and he said, “No one’s ever lucky.  Fortuna is a fleeting Goddess after all.”  He pressed his knuckles into his palms, cracking them as he said to her, “I’ve two elements.  It comes from my parents.”  A grin dashed onto his expression as he stepped toward the incoming S.H.O.T. agents.  “Born of a Fire Dragon and a Warlock known for Lightning,” he tossed a look back to Arabella, “Looks like I can’t avoid them.”

Sting was adept to using fire - his mother once said that he had been born in the flames.  However, Sting preferred using the magic his father had granted to him before he passed.  As he stepped toward the agents, the electricity in the air began to charge as the static was fortified with Sting’s magical energy.  His hands moved into a pattern that had been his father’s signature style - it mimicked drawing a magic circle into the air in front of him.  Once the circle was completed, the lightning crackled, wrapping his right fist with its presence as he punched his fist through the center of the air.  The snap of lightning sparked through the air as he shot his fist through it and as his first emerged on the other side, a powerful bolt of lightning collided from it and hit all of the incoming agents.

He was just…Cass’s brows raised expectantly when he stopped speaking, but it seemed he wasn’t going to finish the thought anytime soon. Chuckling softly, she cocked her head to the side. “You were just… staring dramatically off into the middle distance?” The amused smirk stayed on her lips as the man turned back to her, her eyes sparkling with good humor. “Ahh, the city. It’s North of here,” she replied, one hand raising to point a finger in the direction of city. 

“I totally agree.” Arabella’s been there since the beginning of creation, so one couldn’t imagine the great deal of suffering she’d been through. It did however, shape her to the woman she is today and she was somewhat grateful for that. “Aren’t all siblings like that?” She had her fair share of siblings through the milennia and she had the exact reaction, if not similar to what the man before her was displaying. “Oh really? What kind of beings are you if you don’t mind me asking?” She expressed her curiosity as he was quite amused by the whole bit, while the diwata was slightly clueless. “And all that is filling? Like it fulfills your appetite? Now that’s interesting…” At the mention of SHOT, Arabella rolled her eyes. “You could probably crush them.” 

“I don’t regret much.” She responded, but she knew that whatever she said would be ignored and he would take it his own way. Whenever she spoke to him, it felt like he’d treat her like a good case of opposite day. Felicity winced when he flicked her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Mae’s not my mom and you’re not my big brother. We aren’t related in that way and I’ve already heard the whole family isn’t blood lecture.” She didn’t want to budge. Once upon a time, Mae gave her the Calloway name, but she gave it up. Felicity couldn’t remember why she had, but it only felt right. 

She got up from the ground and placed her hands on her hips. Sting rarely showed his face to her unless she really fucked up. The last time she saw him was when he face timed her so he could yell at her. That conversation was why she decided to use burner phones more often. “What do you mean that SHOT has them. That’s impossible. I mean even if they can’t beat you together, they’re too strong for that shit.”

“That way of thinking is dangerous, Felicity,” Sting warned her.  “Walking around without any attachments and refusing to understand the humanity of yourself is a dangerous mindset.”  Unlike the rest f their adopted family, Sting was always toeing the line between humanity and succumbing to the intensity of his dragon form;  his humanity was what kept him from losing sight of what was important.  He looked over to Felicity, “You know, you’re full of shit.”

Arabella smirked, “Haven’t we all…” She sure as hell did. However, there were too many of those to account for, but they were all in the past and it’ll stay in the past. Eyeing the lighter, she observes in silence and watched as he ate the flames. “That’s lit.” she mused. This City never seems to lose its touch as it continues to be interesting. “Ah, you’re here for family, that’s cute. Where did you come from originally?” Rubbing her hands together, the diwata then stuffed them into her pockets as she huffed out the cold air. “I can see why. You’re not a pyrokinetic are you? Cause if so, you’re the first one I’d ever met that eats flames.”